alt. noumenon, Greek νοούµeνον, from νοῦς, meaning "mind", "perception", or "sense"
In the metaphysics of German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a numenon or Ding an sich ("thing-in-itself") is an entity the existence of which is not contingent upon human perception.
Numena are contrasted with objects of the senses, that is, phenomena. In this sense, we regard numena as encapsulating the ineffable essence of a thing or, in this case, a place.